Bark hack with chip lip



April 23, 1963 c, 100 3,086,287

BARK HACK WITH CHIP LIP Filed July 29, 1960 INVENTOR CURTISS COOK BY @WzQ/M ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,086,287 BARK HACK WITH CHIP LIP Curtiss L. Cook, 100 Lakeview Drive, Liverpool, NY. Filed July 29, 1960, Ser. No. 46,228 2 Claims. (Cl. 30-121) This invention relates to tools used in the production of naval stores and more particularly to tools for bark chipping pine trees, that is, for cutting away the bark but without cutting into the wood underneath the bark.

The object and general nature of this invention is the provision of a bark hack that can be economically produced and in varying bill width, as required by the trade. More specifically, a feature of this invention is the provision of a bark hack that includes a blade formed from flat stock in a simple bending operation, thus eliminating expensive forging operations and the like. Another feature of this invention is the provision of a bark hack in which several bill widths are made available but without requiring a different blade blank for each bill Width desired. More specifically, I provide a blade blank of special shape such that different bill widths may be had merely by bending the blank at different bend lines while maintaining certain essential relations with the rest of the blank so that, 'whateve'r the bill width desired, the completed hack blade will be properly shaped so that it will have the clearance, cutting blade angle, etc., and thus meet all requirements for tools of this kind.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of a bark hack having a chip lip in rear of the bill edge and bent upwardly to form a deflector in the center of the hack blade. The purpose of the chip lip is twofold. First, it frees the cut bark chip in the blade by forcing the chip upwardly between the jaw and the bar, which diverge upwardly, and second, it facilitates cutting the bark from the wood for the upward movement of the chip caused by the lip places the bark material under tension and thus aids the cutting action of the bill.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following description of the preferred means in which the principles of my invention have been incorporated, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a bark hack in which my invention has been embodied.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the bark hack of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding generally to a view I taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 but showing only the blade.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4- -4 of FIG. '3.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the blade shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a view of the blade blank showing the bend lines when a blade having the bill width shown in FIG. 5 is to be formed.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the bend lines for a much wider bill width.

FIG. 8 is an end view showing the completed blade when bent on the bend lines of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 shows a modified form of :blade blank.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a blade made from the blank shown in FIG. 9.

Referring firs-t to FIG. 1, I provide a bark hack 10 that includes a handle or stock -11, usually formed of wood, a cast iron end weight 12, a cast iron or malleable iron blade attachment casting 13, and a bark hack blade 7 14. The end weight 12 and the stock 11 are generally conventional, but the blade and the blade attachment casting include a number of novel features constituting the present invention.

3,086,287 Patented Apr. 23, 1963 The blade 14 includes a shank section 17 that is joined to a sharpened bar 118 that, in turn, is joined to a throat portion 19 at the forward part of which is a sharpened bill 21. The throat portion 19 is joined to a jaw section 23 that is sharpened. The sharpened edges of the bar 18, bill 21, and the jaw section 23 are indicated at 25, 26 and 27, respectively. The corners between the throat, and the bar and jaw sections, are substantially square but the jaw and bar sections diverge upwardly, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. The jaw and bar sections 18 and 23 also diverge rearwardly or away from the bill 21. It is to be noted that all of the bevel of the cutting edges lies on the upper or laterally inner sides of the bar 18, bill 21 and jaw 23, and that the throat 19 is that on the bottom.

The blank from which the blade of FIGS. 1-5 is formed is shown in FIG. 6. The blank is part of a generally narrow strip S cut along transverse shear lines 31 to form the blanks, after which a triangular portion 32 is cut off and the two oppositely angled cutting edges 33 and 34 sharpened. It will be seen from FIG. 6 that the two cutting edges 33 and 34 make equal but opposite angles relative to a center line L, which makes an angle of about relative to the longitudinal axis of the strip S. It will also be seen that the two cutting edges 33 and 34 are symmetrical about the center line L.

The next step is to bend the blank along bend lines 36 and 37 (FIG. 6) to form the bar and the jaw. The

"bend lines 36 and 37 are not exactly parallel, diverging downwardly as can be seen in FIG. 6 so that when the blade is formed the distance a at the bill end of the throat is slightly less than the distance b at the rear of the throat, as can be seen from FIG. 3. Also, as can be seen from FIG. 5 the bends along the lines 36 and 37 are made so that the bar and the jaw diverge upwardly, thereby providing clearance in a vertical direction. The bottom wall 19 forming the throat is provided with a chip lip 40, best shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, which extends upwardly and rearwardly from the bill end portion of the throat. The blade is hardened after the forming and punching operations. The shank 17 is drilled or punched to form two openings 42 to receive a pair of fasteners 43 that fix the blade 14 to the attachment casting 13.

The attachment casting 13 is of particular construction. It includes a cylindrical sleeve portion 45 split, as at 46 and having opposite sides formed with apertured bosses 48 that receive a through bolt 49 that clamps the attachment casting to the reduced end 51 of the stock 11. The blade shank 17 is fixed to an extension 53 on the sleeve 45 and the extension 53 is apertured and tapped to receive a pair of cap screws 43. The juncture between the sleeve 45 and the extension carries a shoulder 54 that receives the square end portion 55 of the blade shank 17. The shoulder 54 is disposed at an angle of about 10 relative to the axis of the stock so that when the blade is fixed to the attachment casting and the latter fixed to the stock the cutting edges 18 and 27 lie in a transverse plane that makes an angle of about 80 relative to the stock axis. The angular relationship provides a slicing action when the blade is drawn toward the operator with a pulling or peeling motion. Further, the angular relation between the center line L and the longitudinal axis of the blade blank clearance, or rake between the bottom wall of the throat 19 and a plane passing through the bill and parallel to the axis of the stock. This rake or clearance is preferably about 3, as will be seen from FIG. 1.

The blank shown in FIG. 6 is adapted, as previously mentioned, to provide hack blades having different throat or bill widths. This is an important feature of this invention inasmuch as substantial economies are realized where it is not required to provide a different forging for each bill width desired. According to my invention, different bill widths may be secured merely by bending the blank along slightly diiferent bend lines. For example, FIG. 7 shows a blank with more widely spaced apart bend lines indicated thereon as compared with FIG. 6. By bending the blank along the bend lines of FIG. 7, a hack blade of the shape and relations shown in FIG. 8 may be provided very easily. Each blank is preferably formed on a brake and the angles between throat bottom, bar and jaw may be whatever is required for the particular blade desired. Such angles may vary so that, whatever the bill width, the center line of the throat may be brought or disposed directly underneath the longitudinal axis of the stock.

Where the two cutting edges 33 and 34 (FIG. 6) are straight lines meeting at an apex 60 (FIG. 6), the latter serves when the blade is completed as a bill point 60a (FIGS. 3-5), which aids in separating the bark from the underlying wood without cutting into the latter.

FIG. 9 illustrates a slightly different form of blade blank in which the cutting edge is formed as a curve C. This form has the advantage that, since sharpening on a radius may be done simply, expense of production is reduced. Also, the bend lines may be located as desired, according to the bill width to be secured. Two sets of bend lines are indicated at B and B When a curved cutting edge is provided on the blade blank, as shown in FIG. 9, the vertical cutting edges of the blade bar and jaw are curved, as in FIG. 10, which provides a somewhat lesser degree of slicing action but may be satisfactory for many uses.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A bark hack comprising a stock, a blade having a shank fixed to said stock, a bar carried by said shank, a substantially flat bill connected at one side with said bar, a jaw connected with the bill at the other side of the latter, and a chip lip comprising a tang connected integrally with the bill, said bar, bill and jaw having cutting edges at the front of the blade and said bar and jaw extending divergingly away from the bill, said tang being connected with the bill adjacent the cutting edge of the latter and extending upwardly from a point adjacent the cutting edge of the bill at an angle and terminating forward of the rear portion of the bill.

2. A bark hack comprising a stock, an attachment member fixed to one end of the stock and having a bladereceiving portion, and a hack blade comprising a jaw, a bill, a bar and a shank, the jaw, bill, and bar having sharpened edges and the bar and jaw extending from the bill at approximately a right angle in spaced apart relation, the bill being flat and planar between said bar and jaw and having a sharpened point disposed in the plane of said fiat bill and lying in a line generally parallel to said jaw and bar and bisecting said bill.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 755,248 Sanborn Mar. 22, 1904 1,185,066 Cline May 30, 1916 1,818,398 Huxford Aug. 11, 1931 1,818,906 McKog Aug. 11, 1931 1,888,243 Smith Nov. 22, 1932 2,364,973 Hanson Dec. 12, 1944 2,434,869 Snow et a1 Jan. 20, 1948 

2. A BARK HACK COMPRISING A STOCK, AN ATTACHMENT MEMBER FIXED TO ONE END OF THE STOCK AND HAVING A BLADERECEIVING PORTION, AND A HACK BLADE COMPRISING A JAW, A BILL, A BAR AND A SHANK, THE JAW, BILL, AND BAR HAVING SHARPENED EDGES AND THE BAR AND JAW EXTENDING FROM THE BILL AT APPROXIMATELY A RIGHT ANGLE IN SPACED APART RELATION, 